Two of the top contenders for this season’s Most Valuable Player award have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for March/April.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic earned Player of the Month honors in the West, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the Player of the Month for the East, the league announced (via Twitter).
Jokic, who appeared in 19 games in March and April, capped off an MVP-caliber season by averaging 31.6 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 7.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, and 1.3 BPG in 34.9 MPG across those 19 appearances, shooting 63.6% from the field. Denver had an 11-8 record in the games Jokic played.
Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, led the Bucks to a 13-3 record in his 16 games in March and April. In 33.5 minutes per contest, he averaged 31.5 points, 12.3 reobunds, 5.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks with a .579 FG%. The team went 1-3 in March and April when Giannis was unavailable.
Jokic is the only Western Conference player to have won two Player of the Month awards this season — he also earned the honor in January. In the East, Antetokounmpo joins Joel Embiid (twice), Kevin Durant, and DeMar DeRozan as this season’s Players of the Month.
The other nominees for March/April were Devin Booker, Luka Doncic, Dejounte Murray, Jordan Poole, and Karl-Anthony Towns in the West, along with Embiid, Durant, LaMelo Ball, Darius Garland, Pascal Siakam, Jayson Tatum, and Trae Young in the East (Twitter link).
Mvp…
I thought Nikola Jovic just declared for the draft yesterday… Now he’s player of the week… Must be pretty good
If Nikola Jovic plays in the NBA, how many sportswriters accidently vote for him for MVP because they can’t tell the difference between the names?
Over/Under 2
Between who?
kidding
So Jokic avereged more points, rebounds, assits, steals, blocks on a significantly higher FG% than Giannis for the month? Wow
This is gonna be such a close MVP race, but I wouldn’t vote for Jokic because of the dirty and devastating hit he put on Morris, who missed 4 months of playing time because of it. Jokic’s actions do not embody an MVP.
Dirty? Hahaha.. if you hit someone in the ribs, don’t turn your back & walk away. Morris is just soft! All bark, no bite.